As the value and use of information continues to increase, individuals and businesses seek additional ways to process and store information. One option available to users is information handling systems. An information handling system generally processes, compiles, stores, and/or communicates information or data for business, personal, or other purposes thereby allowing users to take advantage of the value of the information. Because technology and information handling needs and requirements vary between different users or applications, information handling systems may also vary regarding what information is handled, how the information is handled, how much information is processed, stored, or communicated, and how quickly and efficiently the information may be processed, stored, or communicated. The variations in information handling systems allow for information handling systems to be general or configured for a specific user or specific use such as financial transaction processing, airline reservations, enterprise data storage, or global communications. In addition, information handling systems may include a variety of hardware and software components that may be configured to process, store, and communicate information and may include one or more computer systems, data storage systems, and networking systems.
Manufacturers of hardware and software for use on information handling systems often struggle to effectively combat software piracy. As developers create new and improved licensing schemes in an effort to defeat piracy, software pirates continue to discover mechanisms to circumvent such licensing schemes. Recent approaches to preventing piracy of software include a licensing scheme whereby a unique marker is created based on a binding of a software license key to hardware (e.g., a motherboard) making up an information handling system. Under such a scheme, the unique marker may be stored in a basic input-output system (BIOS) or other component of the information handling system, and such software may be configured to operate only if it determines that the license key for the software is associated with the stored unique marker, thus binding the license key to hardware associated with the information handling system, and preventing use of the license key with other information handling systems.
However, such a licensing scheme presents challenges in servicing, testing, or configuring information handling systems after a license key has been bound to an information handling system. For example, if any information handling system undergoes a repair that includes the replacement of a motherboard, the software installed on a hard disk drive of the information handling system with a license key bound to the replaced motherboard may not operate. As another example, in a testing environment, it may be desirable to install and uninstall different software programs (e.g., different operating systems or different versions of an operating system) so that operability of the different software programs may be verified. However, under the licensing scheme described above, such testing may require the undesired consumption of multiple license keys, which may lead to undesirable expense without a mechanism to “return” license keys. As yet another example, the above-described licensing scheme may present challenges for “late binding,” in which, pursuant to a consumer request or other reason, the then-current configuration of software on an information handling system may be changed prior to shipment (e.g., when a customer orders an upgrade to standard version of software in which the license key is already bound to hardware). Such late binding may require consumption of an additional license key in the absence of a mechanism to “return” the already-bound license key.
In addition, providing service technicians, technical support staff, or factory technicians with an otherwise insecure tool for performing service, testing, and/or late binding may impair effectiveness of the licensing scheme should one or more of such individuals be untrustworthy.